Kenyan scientists use maggots to clean, cure chronic wounds Updated Wednesday, October 2nd 2013 at 23:14 GMT +3 Tweet 1 0 Share KARI Director of Trypanosomiasis Research Centre Dr Phoebe Mukiria explains ‘maggot therapy’ during Kenya Science Journalists Congress held at Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, last week. [PHOTO: PHILIP MUASYA/STANDARD] By PHILIP MUASYA KENYA: The green toilet fly is an unwanted guest in many people’s homes. Owing to its living environments, which include latrines, toilets and hovering over dead rotting carcasses, many people swat it off immediately it perches. Its sight is enough to make one lose appetite. But for Kenyan scientists, the fly is a valuable insect, whose larvae (maggots) would soon be used for cleaning and cure of chronic wounds that are resistant to antibiotics. Such festering wounds may be caused by grisly road accidents or diseases such as diabetes and cancer and take inordinate time to cure. Dr Phoebe Mukiria, Director of Trypanosomiasis Research Centre at Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), says the larvae stage (maggots) of the fly scientifically known as Lucilia sericata has been shown to be effective in cleaning chronic wounds. Cleaning process According to Dr Mukiria, the maggots feed only on dead, rotting tissue of the wound, in a cleaning process called debridement (removal of dead tissue). She says the maggots have modified mandibles (mouth hooks) and also have rough bumps on their bodies which poke and scratch the dead milky tissue of the wound, one of essential mechanisms that debrides the wound. “The maggots’ secretions dissolve dead tissue and suck it up hence cleaning the wound. The results so far are very encouraging and doctors are very happy,” says Dr Mukiria who, jointly with other doctors, is conducting trials at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). It is this nature of maggots that is being used to advance the treatment of wounds in what is called maggot therapy. Dr Mukiria says this method of cleaning wounds reduces time for hospitalisation and re-infection of the wound.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 06:11:36 +0000
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